Back to school immunizations

School days are just around the corner, and your little ones need more than new clothes and some school supplies, they also need their immunizations. Most immunizations are given before a child is 2-years-old, but between the ages of 4 and 6 kids need several booster shots, children between 12 and 15 may also need a booster. All booster shots are due before your child enters kindergarten.

While no one looks forward to getting a shot the benefits outweigh the pain. Vaccinations help prevent disease, keeping children healthy. The diseases the vaccines stem off can result in blindness, hearing loss or deafness, mental retardation and even death.

The chart below shows the vaccines required to attend Oklahoma schools, and the number of doses required for each vaccine and grade.

Booster doses of DTaP and polio vaccines and second doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox) vaccines are routinely recommended at 4 to 6 years of age and are required to attend kindergarten. Also, kids transferring into Oklahoma schools from other states may need hepatitis A vaccine. This vaccine is not required in all states, but, hepatitis A vaccine is required for all Oklahoma students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade.

The following vaccines are not required to attend school, but they are recommended for children ages 11 years and older:

• A second dose of varicella vaccine
• A Tdap booster to protect against whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria, because immunity decreases with time
• Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) because the risk for this disease increases from 15 through 24 years of age
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for girls to prevent two types of the virus that cause 70% of cervical cancer

When it comes to college students they're required to have MMR and hepatitis B vaccines, however, first-time enrollees who will reside on campus are also required to receive the meningococcal vaccine.

The back-to-school vaccination rush usually starts in late July and August. You can get your vaccinations and boosters at your doctor's office, or county health department. In Oklahoma County the Oklahoma City-County Health Department provides free childhood immunizations, and gives over 90,000 free immunizations every year.

Immunizations clinics in the Oklahoma City area are listed below: